


Under the Bed

by defeatedbyabridge



Category: Samurai Sentai Shinkenger (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-06
Updated: 2013-01-06
Packaged: 2017-11-23 21:08:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/626538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/defeatedbyabridge/pseuds/defeatedbyabridge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tadao's parents are wrong about monsters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under the Bed

Otoosan and Okaasan put Tadao to bed the same way they did every night.

Otoosan read his favourite book, about a dinosaur who couldn't decide which hat to wear to a party, then kissed him on the forehead. Otoosan adjusted his glasses, told him quietly, "Good night. Sleep well, son," then padded out of the room. 

Okaasan passed him on his way out. She had water for Tadao. He sipped it, and smiled at her. Both his parents were pretty old. At least thirty. But they were still strong, and energetic, and they loved him very much. He knew that. It was one of the Facts of his life, just like the sun rising and setting, Otoosan's rice balls being far better than anyone else's, Okaasan's iced tea being the sweetest, and little Trumpet, next door's dog, being the lickiest, dribbliest (and cutest) dog in the world.

Another of the Facts in his life was that his Okaasan and Otoosan were completely wrong about something.

"The monsters," he said weakly when Okaasan stood up. 

She tchhed, her eyebrows drawing down together over her nose. "Tadao-chan," she scolded softly. "You're nearly eight. You know there are no monsters."

She did the ritual anyway, sighing, and it hurt him to see her so sad but it made him feel a tiny bit better. She sprayed monster repellent under his bed (it was only water) and said a rhyme (which was only nonsense) about keeping all monsters away from this house. He smiled anyway, and pretended he felt a lot better.

She was wrong. 

There were monsters. He knew it. He'd tried to believe otherwise, tried to be a good dutiful son, but he... knew it. There were monsters, and he wasn't safe, no one was safe, not ever...

She kissed him on the forehead, and turned the light down low as she left. He snuggled down under his red and gold quilt. Window was wide open, as usual. He couldn't sleep without fresh air. Time to sleep. He'd be fine. It wasn't like they'd attacked him at all before, after all. He'd be absolutely-

He jolted awake when he heard the first thing _slither_ its way out from under his bed. Then another. And another. They were... red and brown and wore yellow pants, and they waved weapons. He quivered, hunching back against the wall, wide-eyed as they laughed and waved their weapons. Some of them went out through the window, which couldn't've been easy as they were on the third floor. One of them noticed him, and said something in its odd voice, but then a red blur somersaulted through the window and it disappeared.

Tadao blinked. 

Another one disappeared, ah, it fell to the ground! And there was a man behind it, in red, with a strange helmet, just finishing a sword stroke. "Are you all right?" he asked, resting his sword on his shoulder. A monster ran at him. He spun deftly and kicked it through the open window. 

"Y-Yes," Tadao managed. "My, um, my parents always tell me there are no monsters..."

The man's helmet and suit disappeared, revealing someone a bit younger than his parents, tall, longish dark hair. White and red shirt, black pants. He nodded gravely at Tadao, slashed another monster without looking at it, and took a step towards the bed. "There are indeed monsters. You must always remember that. However," he slashed another, and it fell screaming through the window, "there are those who fight monsters. I apologise for the intrusion; they do not usually appear in residences. My tea- my friends and I will always come to defend you." 

But surely they couldn't be everywhere at once. "Do, um, do people get hurt?" 

"Yes," the man said instantly. It seemed odd the way the remaining monsters sort of whirled behind him, instead of all attacking at once. Two came in; the man slashed one and kicked the other through the window. 

There was a sort of squelched yelp from the ground outside and an aggrieved squawk of, "Take-chan!" 

Tadao gulped, and gave him a small shy smile. "Um. Thank you." 

He wouldn't've believed him if he'd said no. 

The man drew something in the air, and his suit and helmet appeared around him again. He heaved the remaining monsters through the window -- ah, the ones on the floor had vanished, how strange -- then leaped through after them onto the fire escape. He paused for a moment, leaned over to the side, and grabbed something. 

He leaned back through the window and handed it to Tadao. It was a hefty stick, must've fallen onto the fire escape from the big tree during the storms earlier. "Take this. There are monsters. They can be fought." 

The man disappeared without another word.

Tadao looked at the stick, which was about as wide around as his wrist, about as long as his forearm. It wouldn't destroy one of the monsters like the man's sword had. But it made him feel safer, already.

He put it under his pillow, and laid back down. 

Okaasan and Otoosan were wrong. There were monsters.

But he'd been wrong, too. There were monsters, and no one was safe... but there were people who fought the monsters, too. Maybe he could be one of them, one day. 

He was asleep within a minute.


End file.
